The ability for individuals and groups to communicate and carry on a conversation has been dramatically transformed by personal computing/memory devices, easy to use software, and the Internet. For example, consumer communications have evolved over the past twenty years from almost solely using land-based home phone lines for verbal communications and discussions to mobile phone devices which enable both verbal communications and the use of written words as messages in the form of text messages or electronic mail. In this interconnected Internet world, verbal communication is taking a back seat to software that manipulates words enabling text and email messaging. In this new abbreviated-text, quick-phrase Internet world, meaning can be lost, or the electronic message can be easily misinterpreted.
Since the evolution of written communications, natural language words have dominated communication and dialogue, while descriptive pictures have been used to provide ad hoc insertions to words and stories. Even in the current electronic digital age of the Internet, natural language words dominate dialogue, as witnessed by the almost universal use of email and the more recent explosion of text messaging on computers and cell phones.
The continued investment in (1) advanced computer processor and memory technology with the vast manipulation capabilities they provide, and (2) the electronic communication networks that carry the message from one computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), cell phone, or other electronic device to another computer, PDA, cell phone, or other electronic device is the modern day equivalent to investment in the word printing press. More and more efficient natural language word communication is happening at electron speed to instantly connect one user to another user almost anywhere in the world. Yet, the understandable meaning being conveyed may be confused, as words do not always carry enough information for full meaning. For example, when a user texts “Bring home an apple for me,” it is not all that clear what type of apple that the user wants: red/green, small/large, juicy/dry, sweet/sour, etc, so the apple that the user gets may not be the one that the user wanted.
Current word based communication systems operate on a built in conversation control principle of “I talk, you listen, then respond”, where a leader starts the conversation (because in speaking only one can talk and everyone else listens) and waits for a response from the listener or audience, and the leader receives feedback and responds, thus continuing the cycle of “I talk, you listen” on and on (or called “post and wait” method in word emails, chats or blogs). Computer email and text messaging systems mimic this approach as they developed from a vocal speech paradigm and imitated how we speak in real life. So, email and text messaging communication systems tend to list initiator-then responses-then initiator response—and so on. Further, once a word sentence is constructed and used (stated), there is little need to save the word sentence and reuse it in another word sentence or word paragraph as is, so the word sentences are used in the one flow they were first, and only designed for. The conversation control paradigm of “I talk, you listen” does not apply to conversations using images sequenced together to send message(s) amongst many (tens to millions) participants simultaneously in real time. Each participant uses their own images and image sentences to communicate at any time in the conversation. New, flexible communication rules (styles) are required to manage the new visual talking not bounded by the conventional paradigm of “I talk, you listen” control. It is desirable to provide a system and method that allows for the selection of a communication style for visual sentences from a palette of styles, for the sequencing of these styles in a desired conversation flow in a community, and for the selection of members in the community, and for the members to participate in the discussions using the various styles.